The advent of light emitting diode (LED) based luminaires has provided sports arenas, stadiums, other entertainment facilities, and other commercial and industrial facilities the ability to achieve instant on-off capabilities, intelligent controls and adjustability while delivering excellent light quality, consistent light output, and improved energy efficiency. Because of this, users continue to seek improvements in LED lighting devices. The condition or optical quality of an optics (e.g., lens, optical cover, reflector, etc.) of a luminaire may impede the light output and the operation of the luminaire.
For example, accumulation of dirt and debris, water, frost, or other elements on the optics of the luminaire may lead to undesirable changes in the light output of the luminaire and/or may cause damage to the luminaire itself. For example, accumulation of dirt and debris on a luminaire optics may lead to an increase in the inside temperature of the luminaire which cannot be removed by a heat sink effectively, and damage may occur if the inside temperature of the luminaire increases over a temperature threshold. Examples of such damage may include yellowing of the optics, cracking, deformation, or the like.
Maintenance operations on luminaire equipment may occur before damage occurs (i.e., preventive maintenance) or after damage occurs (i.e., repair and/or replacement maintenance). It is more costly to repair a damaged luminaire than to perform preventive maintenance, whereas replacement of the whole unit comes at an even greater cost to include loss of use of the luminaire equipment while replacement parts are delivered. It is, therefore, desirable to discover problems (e.g., detection of obstruction of the luminaire optics) before they can cause damage.
This document describes a lighting fixture and methods of manufacturing thereof that are directed to solving the issues described above, and/or other problems.